Measles in Boston: Collision of Church and State, Science and Journalism

Please note our correction to this story in the “Update” section further down the page.
The biggest measles outbreak in two decades is underway in Boston, with at least 13 infections counted. Recently, a new wrinkle emerged, when a Christian Scientist was infected. He either works or has contact with someone at the Christian Science Monitor — a reputable news organization staffed largely by members of the Church of Christ, Scientist.
It’s not often that we quote Gawker.com, but they’ve got the story:

…a rare case of measles was found in the Back Bay area, and an employee of the Christian Science Church was found to be exposed or infected. The Boston Public Health Commission is now asking every member of the church for proof of immunization, but, you know, Christian Scientists don’t really “do” doctors or vaccines.
Over at the otherwise lovely Christian Science Monitor, the majority of the staff hasn’t been vaccinated – and if just one staffer becomes infected, the rest of the non-immunized staff would have to be quarantined. This has editors rather concerned, as a quarantine situation would leave the paper to be run by a small handful of non-Scientist staffers and interns.
In order to prevent a journalistic catastrophe, CSM staffers have very grudgingly started to get immunizations, even though they believe that the measles threat is “not true.” Nevertheless, the Public Health threat still stands, and if one staff member gets sick, the quarantine will go into effect.

Apparently, an ineffective vaccine given in the mid 60’s is the culprit. This strain is endemic to India, and the first patient recently traveled there.
We suspect it’s unprecedented that an organization could cease to function because the staff’s religious beliefs led to medical vulnerability. At least, in modern times — though perhaps telecommuting will save them. It’ll be interesting to see whether the famously tolerant Commonwealth makes certain allowances for this religion, and whether CSM members acquiesce for their paper or in spite of their beliefs.More from the BostonChannel.com and the Boston Globe (we’re still waiting on the report from the Christian Science Monitor…)
A fascinating look inside the Christian Science Church, from a 1995 Atlantic Monthly (subscription req’d)…Update: (6/20/06) Medgadget staff spoke with Norman Bleichman, a representative of the Church, to correct any mistakes made in our reporting, and to clarify what happened. Here are the details as we were told by the representative of the Church:

One member of the Church was diagnosed with measles. He immediately contacted the Church regarding his condition, and told them of who he recently had contact with at the Church. Based on this call, the Church contacted the Boston health department, received instructions for what to do, and took action to quarantine six individuals at their homes. Of those six, one was later diagnosed with measles, but had been under quarantine, and had no contact with other employees.

It is important to note that none of these seven individuals worked at the Christian Science Monitor, or had contact with its staff, which is housed in a different Church building from their offices.

The Church also provided information to its members about the situation, including how to get vaccinated. The Church neither encouraged or discouraged vaccinations, and has no policy against the procedure. Members of the church make their own decisions, and some chose to be vaccinated at their own will.

We appreciate the clarification. The Christian Science Church seems to be acting responsibly, in this instance, from a medical viewpoint. Perhaps it is a matter of regret that its members were not vaccinated earlier.

Nicholas Genes, MD, PhD, has been with Medgadget since almost the beginning. He's now Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Mount Sinai, where in addition to patient care and teaching responsibilities, he studies EHR usability and physician uses of social media. Dr. Genes serves on the editorial boards of Emergency Physicians Monthly and Emergency Medicine Practice. More about Nick: http://nickgenes.com